:: Saturday, November 13, 2004 ::

Whispers in the Dark

One thing that I've really noticed while going to school here in Sweden is the absolute rudeness of the European students in class. Don't get me wrong, they're fine people, good Europeans, but during virtually every lecture I've had, other people in the class are constantly talking among themselves, usually just whispering, but sometimes actually out loud as well! There's this constant background susurration that is really annoying, and sometimes it reaches the level that it's actually hard to hear what the professor is saying. And of course, the typically non-confrontational Swedish pedagogical method means the professors say nothing about it and continue with their lectures as if half the class wasn't completely ignoring them and talking amongst themselves. I now tend to sit closer to the front just so I have a better chance of hearing the teacher, but it gets to the point sometimes where I want to turn around and scream SHUT UP!!! at the top of my lungs.

And the really strange thing about it is that these other students constantly talk about how strict and formal the universities are in their home countries, so you know they aren't used to talking in class like that (the Swedish educational system is very informal; it's a cooperative experience, and you call professors by their first names). It's like once formal discipline and restrictions are lifted, they feel free to act however they please, kind of like a dog who spends all his time behind a fence and then one day finds the gate open and bolts for his freedom.

I just thought that university students were slightly more developed than dogs.

/end rant

Swedish word of the day: håll käften! which means "shut up!"

:: posted by Rob 3:48 PM [+] ::

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